Tuesday, January 28, 2014

How many of you receive a Birchbox? I signed up just a
couple months ago and am still tweaking (almost typed twerking) my profile to
more accurately hone in my beauty preferences. For $10 a month, it’s a great
way to get a handful of beauty and hair care items I would be
unlikely to buy for myself.

Here’s what I received in my January box:

Fekkai
Brilliant Glossing Crème. It’s no secret that I have very thick hair, so
any form of cream that dares to tame this mane is a welcomed gift. I’ve only used
it a couple of times (mostly because I’ve been too lazy to do my hair in any
style besides a messy bun or braid), but it seems to work fine. It says to use
a quarter-sized amount, but I use less, about a pea-sized. The only thing worse than frizzy hair
is greasy looking hair. PRO: You can use on wet or dry hair! CON: You have to style your hair to see if
the product works.

Juicy
Couture Viva La Juicy. This was the second month I’ve received a fragrance
sample. I have nothing against perfumes, in fact – I love to smell good! But a
girl can only use so many tiny tubes of delicious scent. Last month, I threw my
sample into my gym bag and I’ve been using this sample at home in my “perfume
rotation.” Viva La Juicy is a strong floral scent, but not too overwhelming.
Even though I like it, it doesn’t make me want to run out and buy the
full-sized bottle. I also changed my Birchbox profile to limit the amount of
fragrances I receive. Call me boring, but I just like smelling the same every
day. I find it distracting when people smell differently all the time – don’t
you?

Nail Rock. Words can’t
describe how excited I am to try this product. I’ve had some shellac on my
nails recently, so I haven’t busted open this sample yet, but it looks
promising. Nail Rock comes with a polish to provide a solid color foundation to
your nails, as well as a big pot ‘o glitter. My sample is a light pink/nude
with a pot of pink sparkles. After painting nails with two coats, you’re
instructed to dip WET nails into the pot of sparkle. Press down firmly and
allow 15-20 minutes to dry. I’m not gonna lie, this sounds awesome, but messy.
And I have limited trust in my ability to execute this process properly. Here's a quick video that demonstrates the process. Look closely and you'll notice that they pretty much skip over the part between dipping the nail in glitter and having a perfectly manicured nail. However, I’ve been big on having sparkles on my ring fingers lately (see here and here) and I don’t see why you
couldn’t use the sparkles with other polish colors as well. I’ll report back
after experimenting.

I was supposed to receive Coastal
Scents Revealed Eyeshadow Palette, but instead received some Ahmad Tea. I mean, it tasted just fine, but I'm gonna be honest, I would have preferred the eyeshadow. Tea is tea in my opinion so I think I'll just stick to Tazo.

As an added bonus, I also received Burt’s
Bees Intense Hydration Day Lotion. Since
I’m suffering from the world’s worst cold [slightest exaggeration], this facial
moisturizer has truly been a gift from Lord Jesus. I haven’t been using it as a
full-facial lotion, but have only used some around my nose to help avoid the
sensitivity that usually follows excessive Kleenex use. It smells heavenly and feels
like buttery milk. That’s weird. I know. But just trust me and buy some. I’ve
also used some on my hands on the coldest South Dakota days. I’m probably
breaking some beauty rule.

What did you receive? Do you subscribe to a different but similar
service? If so, tell me more about it! Do you like it? What drew you to that
service instead of Birchbox?

Monday, January 27, 2014

I recently posted this Instagram photo following a trip to
Target. I've known for quite some time that females of all ages, and even
males, succumb time and time again to the wonders of Target aisles. You only
need new mascara? That’s nice, but except to walk out $60 poorer without
mascara, because that’s what Target does to your brain.

I believe we all have the power to buck this trend. Here are
some tips on how to successfully navigate your Target experience:

Don’t you dare take a cart or one of those pesky
shopping baskets. Those are DANGEROUS. By limiting yourself to purchasing only
what your hands/arms/body can hold, you will be forced at some point to put
down that nail polish simply because you have no other limbs to hold it. If
your shopping list demands that you need a cart (i.e. you need Kleenex, toilet
paper, and a complete restock of the shower/makeup necessities), you’re
screwed. And that’s okay. Just accept it.

Be cautious in the Dollar Spot section at the
beginning of the store. Some of this stuff is absolute junk. Don’t buy it. But
some items, like $1 thank you cards, will save you money in the long run. We
all buy excess cards/stationery that fill our desk drawers, but it’s better to
only spend $1 than $5 in an aisle just 100 feet away! Also be cautious of some
items that may be $2 or $3. Target has started to throw these items into the
fray – so just be aware of the price tags when browsing.

Don’t walk around the whole store. It’s one
thing to end up with an extra $6 necklace or $4 lip gloss, but navigating down
the home furnishings or book aisle will quickly add to your bill. Target stores
are functional in the way that the layout is predictable. You can easily avoid “trouble
spots” by avoiding entire sections of the store altogether.

Avoid the dressing rooms. By refusing to try
anything on, you avoid purchasing unnecessary clothing. I've never shared the
philosophy of “buy it, try it on later” so this is an easy way for me to save
some dollar bills.

Focus on the end-caps. This is where you can
save some big bucks – or spend $10 on things you really don’t need, depending
on the way you look at it. My two favorite end-caps (this may vary depending on
your store) are located in the school supply and makeup section. These
end-caps do not face the main aisles, but the back wall. So if you’re in the
school supply section, go towards the wrapping paper wall and you’re bound to
find some solid clearance end-caps. The discounted makeup end-cap generally
faces the massive nail polish wall. Here’s an example.

What day is it? Target has a markdown schedule so keep an eye out for those red stickers! Generally speaking, clearance prices will end in either a 4 or an 8 (i.e. $1.98).
According to All
Things Target (seriously – who knew such a site existed?!), this is the
latest rundown:

These tips may be helpful when you’re really looking to
stick to your list, but let’s be honest, you’re going to cave from time-to-time
and that’s okay! The great thing about Target is that we love shopping there.
Browsing aisles at Target is never stressful to me and it shouldn’t be stressful
for you either! So although it’s good to stick to our budgets and our shopping
lists, enjoy the moments when Target sweeps you off your feet. Just avoid
purchasing lattes at the in-store Starbucks, going home, setting the latte down
while you marvel at your purchases … only to rediscover the cold latte hours
later. Or does that just happen to me?